2018, 2019 Worldcons to Present Retrospective Hugo Awards

The 2018 and 2019 Worldcons will present Retrospective Hugo Awards for the years 1943 and 1944, the two conventions announced jointly at SMOFCon 35, the annual SF/F conrunners convention, in Boston on December 2, 2017.

Worldcon 76 in San Jose in their announcement “invites you on the evening of August 16, 2018, to walk the red carpet back through time to a 1943 Worldcon that never was, and celebrate with other fans the works of 1942.”

Dublin 2019, An Irish Worldcon “is planning a First Night extravaganza, combining Opening Ceremonies and the Retro Hugos, celebrating the past, present and future of both the genre and Worldcon,” according to the joint announcement and a press release from Dublin 2019.

Retrospective Hugo Awards (“Retro-Hugos”) are authorized by the World Science Fiction Society for Hugo Awards held an exact multiple of 25 years prior to the current Worldcon, provided that no Hugo Awards or Retrospective Hugo Awards were already presented for that year. Retro-Hugos cannot be presented for years prior to 1939. A rule change ratified at Worldcon 75 in Helsinki opened up Retro-Hugos to the the “WW II Gap” from 1942-1945, during which no Worldcons were held. Previously, only years in which a Worldcon was held were eligible for Retro-Hugos. As with the “regular” Hugo Awards, Retrospective Hugo Awards are for works published or appearing in the previous calendar year to the year of the award.

Per the WSFS Constitution, the Retrospective Hugo Award categories are the same as those for the current Hugo Awards. Any categories where there are insufficient nominations will be dropped from the final ballot.

Members of the 2017, 2018, and 2019 Worldcons as of December 31, 2017 will be eligible to nominate for both the 2018 Hugo Awards and the 1943 Retrospective Hugo Awards. Members of the 2018 and 2019 Worldcons as of December 31, 2018 will be eligible to nominate for both the 2019 Hugo Awards and the 1944 Retrospective Hugo Awards. (As the result of a rule change ratified at Worldcon 75 in Helsinki, members of the following Worldcon will no longer be eligible to nominate on the current Worldcon’s Hugo Awards effective as of the 2019 Worldcon.)

Administration of both the Hugo Awards and Retrospective Hugo Awards rests with the individual Worldcon committees. Direct any questions about the Hugo Awards and Retrospective Hugo Awards for the relevant years to the respective Worldcons’ Hugo Administrators.